Injury epidemic undermines Euroleague

“It’s not possible to play five games in nine days and this has happened at least four times during the season.” Sarnas Jasikevicius At the end of last Tuesday’s away game, he seemed very worried. balsa Due to a series of injuries affecting the team, FenerbahceAs a result, he lost several members of his main force (Wilbekin, Jantunen, Onuralp…).

He is not alone in criticizing calendar density as an exacerbating factor in trends that affect everyone. And with around 50 players sidelined each week with more or less serious injuries, this number is slightly higher than last year, when the increase was already noticeable.

For the premiere screening of Joan Penaroya (This Friday’s match against Maccabi) On the bench, partisan There were up to eight players between confirmed casualties and suspected physical problems. he red star Upon visiting the court, Efes arrived with six players unavailable, and Efes played with five fewer players. Asbel Villeurbanne.

he balsaFor example, he recovered Nico last week La Provitla And Jean Vesely But Juan is still out. Nuñezintention cliburn Toko shengelia. The team’s average age already hints at possible physical stress issues, a problem exacerbated by the ever-more grueling schedule.

In the 2023-24 season, euro league Play-ins, a qualifying phase added between the end of the regular phase and the playoffs, have been introduced. This season, the number of teams has increased to 20. This means four more games for the entire team, requiring a more grueling road trip ( middle east). Finally, due to slight expansion, FIBApossibilities have opened up for players. euro league You can go to the counter. FIBA Something happened during the national team in November with dozens of people, including Barça player Shengelia.

“On the one hand, it is understood that we are currently doing something like this with 20 teams, but on the other hand we are crushing the players. So obviously something needs to be done,” Jasikevicius lamented. “Sometimes players are completely burnt out mentally and physically,” he added.

scariolo, Spanoulis and messina They were some of the coaches who reinforced this criticism of the density of the calendar. “The players are reaching 80 or 90 games, and in the summer they accompany the national team. Everyone (in the Euroleague, FIBA) wants their own space, and in the end the one who doesn’t have the space is the player,” Messina said at one point last season.

Madrid’s manager Sergio Scarioloalso acknowledged the need for change. “The number of games has increased and I think it was a mistake. Everyone is rethinking the format.”